A promise

Paint your face! Paint in black! Paint with charcoal! Leave your face dirty! Men are animals! Men will never change! Exclaimed my father I never realized? I got angry by his utterance; What wrong have I been into? I walked tall Carrying Millions of questions to self! Never did dare to welcome my early young days? Or never did dare to salute my adolescence period? And I never did dare to flaunt my puberty life? All I did was a dumb lazy sluggish mower; He’s happy when I ‘m idle; He’s happy when I’m listless; My Courage never did help finding an answer to this.

Paint your face! Paint in black! Paint with charcoal! Leave your face dirty! Men are animals! Men will never change! Exclaimed my father He did loved cutting and trimming my hairs; Every single month’s Sunday was his day! Come! I need to cut your hair, It’s growing long! My father Roar repeatedly I threw up crying; never had guts to say a word Never had a chance to protest; My hair too short, my speechless hair so active; Nothing was sure and certain, Oh! My ugly hair, reasoning thousand finding a way to save But, I swing around with crazy boy cut hair; Never did I pose my long silky hairs.

Paint your face! Paint in black! Paint with charcoal! Leave your face dirty! Men are animals! Men will never change! Exclaimed my father Wondering how? Why? And what for I had to paint? He never opens or unfurls his exclaiming! ‘It was an untold story my mother did tell? All she does is cool and quite; and she’s happy too, I walked tall with my short boy cut hair; Feeling plain looking, dull and unattractive; I own not a lipstick for my lips to color red; I own not a pencil to color my eyes brows dark;I own not a compact to powder my face white; Wearing boy shirt and skirt, I pounder exciting and unknowingly the ugly truth forepart; Never did I neglect Swimming dutifully across my youth life.

William Gurumayum, Sub-Editor of Imphal Times is a resident of Sagolband Salam Leikai. He has been with Imphal Times since 2013. An avid adventure lover, writes mostly travelogue. He can be contacted at [email protected]